New Zealander paints his own parking restrictions

A New Zealand man who has unlawfully painted yellow line parking restrictions outside his house in Wellington for the last 20 years says he has done so to improve road safety and to protest against gentrification.

Russell Taylor said it was necessary to stop cars from parking dangerously in an increasingly busy street. The city council says the lines are illegal and will be removed.

Mr Taylor has lived on Holloway Road since 1979, he says he has painted the lines intermittently over the last two decades when the parking problem in his street has become especially bad.

The roads have changed a lot since he has lived there and a lot more people now have cars. Mr Taylor sees it as a protest against the failure of the council to take action.

"Cars park on blind corners, and on occasions fire lorries and rubbish collection vehicles have been unable to turn around because vehicles are parked on both sides of the road.

"More recently we have had the additional problem of drivers going far too fast down our narrow street."

A city council spokesman, Richard MacLean, told Stuff New Zealand that it was aware there was a parking problem in Holloway Road, and it will shortly be discussed by residents and councillors.

The spokesman added that it was unlikely that Mr Taylor would be punished for his long-running, unofficial road-marking campaign.